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[quote=Anonymous]Unless your daughter is strong enough to move on to a DA or ECNL team (or very competitive regional club team), I think D1 (at least the top 2/3) would be a stretch. (that being said, a lot of good can happen in 3+ years especially if a kid works hard).

Once she gets to HS, my advice is for your daughter to approach the college search by looking for schools that are the right fit for her academic interests/background/profile, your family's finances, and her personal preferences of what type of environment is right for her (small vs large, liberal vs conservative, city vs small town, etc.), and then see where soccer might fit in. For example, if she decides that UVA is the right place for her, then club soccer might be a great way for her to continue to play.  Maybe she considers a smaller NECAC school...perhaps worth sending her to an ID camp to see if there's interest from the coach.

Also, don't assume Ivies are weak, easy-to-access soccer programs - Harvard just recruited two national team players from the Class of 2020. They can get really good soccer talent b/c, well, they're Harvard. Lots of very smart kids are also very good soccer players these days. While the Ivies aren't winning national championships, they are fielding strong-ish teams.

If she wants to play college soccer in any division, she'll need a highlight video (for making introductions), recruiting outreach, and ID camps/showcases by sophomore year of HS. Maybe the summer after her freshman year, have her attend a couple of ID camps and have her club coach get feedback from the college coaches. By then, you should have a sense of what's realistic for her. The summer after 9th grade, my daughter went to a multi school ID camp where the coaches provided individual feedback to the players during the camp - not recruiting conversations, but more skills assessments and strengths/weaknesses. Then she and we met with her club coach to talk about next steps - started sending emails to coaches before showcases, visiting schools just to get a sense of what she liked, and then attending ID camps for schools that were on her list.

Lastly, if she wants to play college soccer, her fitness levels will need to be strong - that means training outside of club practice. Based on my experience with DA and ECNL teams, many of the better players do work on their own, many with a trainer.

So...if she decides she wants to play soccer in college (any division), she'll want to work to move on to an ECNL or DA team, really work on her skills and fitness, and find a coach who can be her advocate and help support her development and the recruiting process.  [/quote]

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